Car coupler



Nov. 11, 1 52 w. J. METZGER CAR COUPLER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed March 2, 1949 w EV INVENTOR.

W\LL\AM J. T ER "W6 ATTORNEY Nov. 11, 1952 w, J. METZGER CAR COUPLER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 CENTER OF GRAVITY CENTER OF GRAVITY INVENTOR.

W\LL|AM d ET GER ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1952 signor .to NationalMalleable and Steel Castings Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation. of

O io.

Application March 2, 1949, S erial' No. "79,140,

2 Claims. (01. 213-155) 1 Thisinvention relates to car couplers and more particularly to knuckle type couplers for railway cars.

Inthe present E coupler which is standard for use-on-railway-cars the tail of theknuckle tends to'tip the knuckle' duetothefact that the preponderanceofthe weightthereof is in the tail:

portions. While the knuckle isprovided on its underside with=a padwhich serves asa bearing onwhichthe-knucklepivots aboutthe pivot pin, the center of gravity of the. knuckle is disposed beyondthe-extremities of the pad and on the tailside' of the pivot pin, thereby causing the knuckle to tilt toward the tailv side. This condition'is aggravated bytheadditional weight of the coupler lock which rests on the knuckle tail when the knuckle is closed, and by associated lockoperating parts. Furthermore, the wear on the bottom of the knuckle occurring as the result of service wear allows the knuckle to seat lower, in the coupler-head and thus further aggravates the interference.

This tiltingof the knuckle isobjectionable because the'pulling lug on the underside'of the knuckle tail is thereby caused to engage the floor of the couplerbody and thefrictional contact therebetween increases the force necessary to open the-knuckle. The drag of the pulling lug against floor of the coupler as the knuckle is swung openrequiresthe application of a considerably greater force to thehandle of the-uncoupling mechanism than would otherwise be necessary. In certaininstances. it is practically impossible to raise the uncoupling rod handle with suflicient force to open the knuckle.

Accordingly, it is the main object of my invention to provide a coupler knuckle in which its center of gravity is so disposed that there is no tendency for the knuckle to tilt with respect to its pivot pin.

More specifically my object is to provide a bearing pad on the underside of the knuckle so arranged that in conjunction with the coring of the knuckle tail there is no tendency for the knuckle to tip.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1, is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of an A. A. R. standard E coupler embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 corresponds to Fig. l but shows an A. A. R. standard E coupler.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of an A. A. R. standard E coupler.

Fig. 4' is a bottom plan viewof an A. A. R. standard E knuckle embodying-- my invention.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional viewof a con-- ventional' A. A. R. E-knuckle of thesolid type.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of an-A. A. R. standard E knuckle cored, embodying my invention.

Referring to-the drawings which illustratean A. A. R. standard E coupler it will beseen that the knuckle Ill is-pivoted to the coupler head H by means of a vertical pin l2. The knuckle-comprises a forward nose portion lilonone side of pin [2 and a tail portion M on the other side ofthe pin. With'the knuckle in. closed position as shown in Figs. 1, 2-and 3, the lock'lS is-seated on'the knuckle tail shelf l6 and on the'knuckle thrower H. The lock is also interposed between the-knuckle tail and the-side wall of the coupler head to-maintain the-knuckle in locked position.

To open the knuckle the lock must. first be raised until it'is clear of theknuckle tail. This is" accomplished.- by the actuation: of toggle 20 and rotorlever-Zl bymeans of the usual uncoupling rod (not shown) connected to the lever. Asthe rotor lever is actuated theupper end of toggle 20 moves upwards and rearward in the inclined slot 22', and withdraws anticreep lug23 frombeneath stop 24 in the coupler head, there by permitting the lockto beraisedrto unlocked position.

In Fig. 1 is shown an A. 'A. R. standard-E coupler whichhas a knuckle l0 embodyin my invention, the knucklebeing in. closed-position. It will be observed in particular that the knuckle is in upright position with a clearance as at 21 between pulling lug 28 and the floor 29 of the coupler. The only contact between the knuckle and the coupler head is that which occurs between pad 32, the novelty of which will appear in a succeeding part of this specification, and seat 33 on the coupler head.

Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 but shows the present A. A. R. standard E coupler with a conventional knuckle and illustrates the tilted position of the knuckle. It will be observed that knuckle I0 is tilted rearwardly and that pulling lug 28 is in contact with floor 29 of the coupler head. Therefore, lug 28 will drag along the floor of the coupler as the knuckle is pivoted about its pivot pin and this will increase considerably the force which is required to swing the knuckle from locked to open position.

I have found that in extending pad 32 toward the knuckle tail the pad will underlie the center of gravity of the knuckle and will therefore prevent tilting thereof. In Fig. 4 which shows the underside of an A. A. R. standard E coupler knuckle, the outline of pad 32 is illustrated. The pad is formed eccentrically around the knuckle pin hole, the greater part of its area being to the knuckle tail side of the pivot pin hole 35.

Adjacent the side of the pad the knuckle is recessed as at 36 in order to assure a flat bearing surface on the pad. The curved dot-dash line a represents the contour of the pad as it exists in the present E coupler knuckle. It will be seen that the area of the support pad has been substantially increased, most of the addition being to the rear or tail side of the pin hole. In Fig. 5 is shown the position of the center of gravity of the existing solid type E coupler knuckle with respect to the pad 40. It will be observed that the center of gravity is outside the boundary of the pad and therefore will cause the knuckle to tilt in the direction of its tail.

In 1946 the A. A. R. specifications were changed to permit the coring of the solid type knuckle in order to decrease the weight of the knuckle. To maintain the required strength of the cored knuckle it is made from high tensile steel. This coring of the knuckle is shown in Fig. 6. While the coring efiected a reduction in weight of the knuckle tail in respect to the forward portion l3 the knuckle still tended to tilt toward its tail side and render difficult the opening of the knuckle.

Fig. 6 corresponds to Fig. 5 but shows an A. A. R. standard E knuckle cored and having my improved pad 32 applied thereto. This view shows that the center of gravity of the knuckle when projected downward lies within'the extremity of the pad, thereby avoiding any tendency of the knuckle to tilt. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that even with the weight of the coupler lock and toggle resting on the knuckle tail the knuckle remains upright.

It will be seen therefore, that the extension of the knuckle bearing pad toward the knuckle tail, assisted by the coring of the knuckle, serves to disposethe center of gravity of the knuckle so that it lies within the extremity of the pad, and thus precludes tilting of the knuckle. My improvement thereby eliminates any drag between the lower pulling lug of the knuckle and the floor of the coupler head.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excludpad on its underside surrounding said pivot pin hole, said pad comprising a fiat undersurface coextensive therewith and extending rearwardly toward said tail portion so as to underlie said center of gravity, said pad and said undersurface serving to support said knuckle in upright position.

2. In a car coupler having a head, a knuckle pivoted to said head about a vertical pin, said knuckle having a tail portion disposed rearwardly of said pin, said head having a fiat horizontally disposed seat about said pin beneath said knuckle, said knuckle having on its underside a continuous pad surrounding the knuckle pin Opening therein for engagement with said seat for supporting said knuckle, the center of gravity of said knuckle being located on the tail side of said pin, said pad comprising a fiat undersurface coextensive therewith lying in a single plane, said undersurface extending rearwardly so as to underlie said center of gravity, said pad and said undersurface serving to support? said knuckle in upright position on said sea WILLIAM J. ME'IZGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Kayler May 13, 1952 

